Voting with star-studded approval

+ working late costs you and your employer US Edition - Today's top story: Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris shows how big a role music is playing in the 2024 election [View in browser]( US Edition | 12 September 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Could pop music decide the election?]( - [Cells that form new life after you die]( - [‘Bupe bus’ brings addiction meds to patients]( A note from our Executive Editor Dear Reader, Every September, we briefly interrupt our regularly scheduled programming of vital journalism for a weeklong fundraising campaign. As a nonprofit newsroom, we do not have advertising or paid subscriptions or a paywall – we believe that our content should always be free to read. These evidence-based stories inform you and voters across America about the critical questions that affect our daily lives. There is no substitute. And this, I hope, is [where you come in](. We don’t like to ask for money, but it is through the support of readers like you that we can [keep our journalism free for all](. So I’ll keep this brief. If you can afford the cost of two cups of coffee, [please consider becoming a sustaining member](. If you can afford more, perhaps much more, please know that your support will go to ensure those who cannot afford to give will be able to have The Conversation to help make sense of the world. Thank you for reading and for your generosity, Beth [Donate today]( Beth Daley Executive Editor and General Manager Attendees dance as a band plays during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images [Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris shows how big a role music is playing in the 2024 election]( Mark Clague, University of Michigan With Harris and Trump locked in a dead heat, getting their supporters to sing, scream and dance can cultivate an aura of inevitable electoral triumph. Politics + Society - [Could Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris make a difference? 19% of young people admit a celebrity’s OK might influence them]( Richard T. Longoria, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley While celebrities are unlikely to decisively shift whom many people choose to vote for, their endorsement of a political candidate can still help shape an election. - [A Nazi magazine regularly published manipulated photos and misinformation, long before the age of AI]( Daniel H. Magilow, University of Tennessee The Nazis routinely shared altered photos in their official publication, the Illustrierter Beobachter, causing readers to question what was real or fake. - [Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States would have given Nixon immunity for Watergate crimes — but 50 years ago he needed a presidential pardon to avoid prison]( Ken Hughes, University of Virginia President Gerald Ford’s pardon of former President Richard Nixon 50 years ago is seen as a damaging precedent establishing presidential impunity. Now, the Supreme Court has affirmed that impunity. Economy + Business - [Responding to work emails after hours contributes to burnout, hostility]( Myoung-Gi Chon, Auburn University Boundaries exist for a reason. Science + Technology - [Biobots arise from the cells of dead organisms − pushing the boundaries of life, death and medicine]( Peter A Noble, University of Washington; Alex Pozhitkov, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope Given the right conditions, certain types of cells are able to self-assemble into new lifeforms after the organism they were once part of has died. Health + Medicine - [Philly residents with opioid addiction get medication from the ‘bupe bus’ − creating a path for treatment]( Margaret Lowenstein, University of Pennsylvania After their initial visit, 69% of patients returned to the van at least four times for follow-ups. International - [East is East, West is West − and Turkey is looking to forge its own BRICS path between the two]( Jorge Heine, Boston University NATO member Turkey’s intention to join the 9-member body that functions as an alternative to the Western-led order shows Ankara’s global ambitions. Education - [Free school meals are on the rise in the US − but that could change depending on who wins the 2024 presidential election]( Marlene B. Schwartz, University of Connecticut; Juliana Cohen, Merrimack College Minnesota Gov. and vice presidential contender Tim Walz has championed his state’s free school meals policy. Podcast 🎙️ - [Why mpox in Africa was ignored for too long and children are dying as a result – podcast]( Gemma Ware, The Conversation Virologist Wolfgang Preiser and paediatrician Ndia Sam-Agudu talk to The Conversation Weekly podcast about the latest mpox epidemic and how the disease has been ignored in Africa. Trending on site - [Starting with a handshake, presidential debate between Harris and Trump then turns fierce, and pointed]( - [Whales are recovering from near extinction, but industrial fishing around Antarctica competes for their sole food source]( - [Less than 1% of abortions take place in the third trimester – here’s why people get them]( Today's graphic 📈 [The food insecurity rate declined to 10.2% in 2021 from nearly 15% in 2011, as the government ramped up safety net spending to cushion economic blows from the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate increased in 2022 and again 2023, when it rose to 13.5% after a rollback in benefit spending.]( From the story, [Domesticating horses had a huge impact on human society − new science rewrites where and when it first happened]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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